Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in an imaging technique that has gained much attention in brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). Previous NIRS-BCI studies have primarily employed temporal features, derived from the time course of hemodynamic activity, despite potential value contained in the spatial attributes of a response. In an initial offline study, we investigated the value of using joint spatial-temporal pattern classification with dynamic NIR topograms to differentiate intentional cortical activation from rest. With the inclusion of spatiotemporal features, we demonstrated a significant increase in achievable classification accuracies from those obtained using temporal features alone (p < 10-4). In a second study, we evaluated the feasibility of implementing joint spatial-temporal pattern classification in an online system. We developed an online system-paced NIRS-BCI, and were able to differentiate two cortical states with high accuracy (77.4±10.5%). Collectively, these findings demonstrate the value of including spatiotemporal features in the classification of functional NIRS data for BCI applications.

In this thesis I argue that the category Near-Death Experience (NDE) emerged in the late-twentieth century, and is structured by the discourses of 'Medicine' and 'Science', and the wider discursive factors of the 'Spiritual Marketplace'. Within NDE literature, the experiences of people coming out of their bodies in Operating Theatres, and then travelling to other realms, are considered to have parallels in the accounts of mystics, shamans, and religious visionaries of other cultures and other times. Against this, I argue that the category of the NDE does not "articulate the same field of discourse" (Foucault, 1969:24-25) as these other religious accounts. NDE researchers sift through these accounts in search of a common thread, but miss the wider social fabric of the religious narratives they seek to excavate, as well as the discursive location that structures their own research. In order to reposition this debate within its own history of ideas, I argue that the category "NDE" is itself dependent on the Operating Theatre for its emergence and initial appeal, and it is the Operating Theatre that makes the discourse of NDEs possible. Within the last 120 years, there have been many attempts to intersect science with anomalous experiences on the fringes of human consciousness: Psychical Research categorised deathbed visions in a wider schemata that was interested in how the fringes of the subconscious mind might yield evidence of another reality; contemporary Parapsychology looked at third-person accounts of deathbed visions recounted to Nurses and Doctors across the globe. Neither of these iscourses had the crossover into the wider 'public sphere' that Raymond Moody's book Life After Life (1975) did, a book that recounts first-person accounts of normal people, caught in extreme medical emergencies, who come out of their bodies, witness the medical teams' attempt to resuscitate them, visit a heavenly realm, and return to tell people about it. What is unique about the NDE is not the vision of a world after death, but the context in which this vision occurs. In Chapter 2 I explore that context by arguing that Psychical Researchers' investigation of mediums, apparitions, and deathbed visions sought to prove that posthumous existence of the Other (that is, one's relatives or friends who had passed on to the other side), and indirectly the Self. (Conversely, NDE research, seeks to prove the existence of the Self, and indirectly, the Other.) In Chapter 3 I examine how Medicine and the Modern Hospice Movement shaped the conditions of emergence of the category 'NDE'. The removal of 'death' from the public sphere into the private sphere of the West meant that death became something exotic. The idea that death was a defeat for modern medicine lead to the emergence of the modern Hospice movement, which opened up a space for the visions of those close to death to be recounted in the public sphere. The recounting of such experiences encapsulates a narrative that includes the Surgeon's intervention, the technology used in the Operating Theatre, and of the everyday man or woman talking about their visions, all of which gives these experiences a cultural currency that sets them apart from other religious and/or New Age accounts. In chapter 4 I recognise that, for these experiences to have an appeal, they must have a market to appeal to. Thus, I examine the 'Spiritual Marketplace', and argue that the NDE researchers fundamentally misread the appeal of their life after death accounts. NDE researchers felt that they had uncovered publicly verifiable evidence for life after death, which they expected to shake the foundations of Western society. Instead, these accounts were read as a curio in the privacy of the spiritual consumer's home, an interesting account that suggested death might not be the end of existence, but little else. When their vision of a spiritual revolution failed to materialise, the founders of the NDE movement fell into a bitter war about the precise signification of the category NDE, thus giving an indication of the fundamental indeterminacy of the category. In chapter 5 I explore how NDE research intersects with the discourse of "Science". I therefore examine the construction of science, the function of science, and the limits of science in NDE literature. I begin by examining how the narratives of science permeate NDE literature, and how all sides implicitly reinforce a binary of Science/Religion that emphasises the former as objective and neutral, and the latter as irrational belief. I then argue that, ultimately, NDEs happen at the very limits of human experience in a realm far outside of what can be answered by direct scientific observation; the debate tells us more about the different metaphysical presumptions present than it does about whether or not science can answer the question 'is there life after death?" In chapter 6 I argue that, in the discourse surrounding NDEs, death and mysticism become entwined as the 'exotic other'. I therefore examine how the categories 'death' and 'mysticism' are themselves both bound up in a particular web of signification. The NDE secures its own identity against an understanding of death born in clinical medicine and, latterly, Freudian psychoanalysis: death becomes a point, after which there is an unknown. Similarly, the NDE inherits an understanding of Mysticism that can be traced back to William James. Nevertheless, the understanding of 'death' throughout history is not fixed but fluid, depending on a myriad of cultural and social discourses. Similarly, the modern psychological definition of 'mysticism' as an ineffable, subjective experience is extremely narrow in comparison to the accounts of mystics in the Middle Ages. When the understanding of these two categories changes, the emphasis upon securing 'evidence' for life after death evaporates. This point is missed in contemporary NDE research that assumes that its own desire to find evidence of life after death is reflective of a universal need for humans to believe in religion: whilst NDE researchers believe that they have finally uncovered a window on to another world, I have argued that this is, in fact, a mirror of their own particular predilections and desires.

Introdução – A mortalidade materna apresenta grande diferença entre os países desenvolvidos e em desenvolvimento e espelha a qualidade da assistência prestada à saúde da mulher. Para evidenciar melhor essa assistência novos métodos de estudo vêm sendo utilizados, dentre eles a investigação das morbidades materna graves – near misses. Objetivo - Analisar se a cor é fator de risco determinante de casos de near miss, das mulheres residentes em três municípios da Região Metropolitana de Curitiba. Método - Estudo de caso-controle prospectivo de base populacional. Resultados - Foram identificados 68 casos de near miss, dentre eles um óbito materno direto, um indireto tardio e um direto tardio, sendo relação de 1 óbito para cada 23 casos de near miss ou 4,41%. A razão de mortalidade materna ficou em 36,05/100 mil nascidos vivos, atingindo 108,15/100 mil nascidos vivos considerando os dois óbitos tardios. Os casos representam taxa de 2,45% das gestantes ou 24,50/1000 partos. Tanto na análise univariada como na multivariada a cor não apresentou significância estatística sendo o p= 0,497 e 0,8964 respectivamente. Houve significância estatística na interação entre cor e paridade p= 0,0095, OR 3,67 (IC 95% 1,37 – 9,80). Conclusões – Dentre outros achados a relação de 1 óbito materno para 23 casos de near miss e o salto da razão de mortalidade materna de 36,05 para 108,15/100 mil nascidos vivos justificam o estudo da morbidade materna grave, possibilitando conhecer a real situação da assistência a saúde da mulher. A variável cor não foi identificada como sendo fator de risco para near miss. Evidenciou-se a necessidade de aprofundamento da análise das variáveis identificadas como fatores de risco para near miss: idade e outras causas de internação para mulheres brancas, número de gestações e doenças associadas para as mulheres negras, assim como a instituição de outros parâmetros de análise como as transferências e reinternações. / Introduction - Maternal mortality presents great difference between the developed and developing countries and reflects the quality of the woman health care delivered. To evidence this assistance better new study methods come being used, amongst them, the investigation of the severe maternal morbidity - near misses. Objective – Evaluate if the color is a determinative factor to cases of near miss to women who live in three cities of Metropolitan Region Curitiba. Method – Prospective case-control study of population-based. Results – 68 cases of near miss had been identified, amongst them one direct maternal death, one delayed indirect and one delayed direct, being relation of 1 death for each 23 cases of near miss or 4.41%. The maternal mortality ratio was in 36,05/100,000 live births, reaching 108,15/100,000 live births considering the two delayed deaths. The cases represent 2,45% of the pregnants or 24,50/1000 live births. As much in the univariate analysis as in multivariate the color did not present statistic significance, being p= 0,497 and 0,8964, respectively. There was statistic significance in the interaction between color and parity p= 0,0095, OR 3,67 (IC 95% 1,37 - 9,80). Conclusions – Amongst other findings, the relation of 1 maternal death for 23 cases of near miss and the jump of the maternal mortality ratio from 36,05 to 108,15/100,000 live births justify the maternal morbidity study making possible to know the real situation of the assistance the health of the woman. The variable color was not identified as being factor of risk to near miss. It was proven necessity of deepening of the analysis of the identified variable as factors of risk to near miss: age and other causes of internment for white women, number of gestations and diseases associates for the black women, as well as the institution of other parameters of analysis as the transferences and re-internment

Orientadores: Eliana Martorano Amaral, Maria José Martins Duarte Osis / Texto em português e inglês / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-23T07:32:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Luz_AdrianaGomes_D.pdf: 2135363 bytes, checksum: 77f86d7ebfa7deb2bd88661c7df7380d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: Introdução: A morte materna é a 5ª meta do Desenvolvimento do Milênio e persiste como um problema complexo de saúde. Para alcançar esta meta, é preciso conhecer exatamente quais as condições e processos de cuidado que levam as mulheres a situações clínicas críticas e morte durante o ciclo gravídico-puerperal. Neste cenário, um grupo de pesquisadores implantou um projeto com objetivo de criar a rede nacional de cooperação científica para realizar vigilância, estimar frequência dos casos de near-miss maternos, realizar uma investigação multicêntrica sobre a qualidade dos cuidados das mulheres com complicações severas na gestação e conduzir uma avaliação multidimensional de um grupo selecionado destas mulheres (Rede Nacional de Vigilância de Morbidade Materna Grave - RNVMMG), composta de 27 serviços de referência em diferentes regiões do Brasil. Objetivo: avaliar a perspectiva dos profissionais sobre o impacto na qualidade dos cuidados oferecidos às mulheres com a participação do serviço na Rede Nacional de Vigilância de Morbidade Materna Grave (RNVMMG). Sujeitos e Métodos: Estudo multicêntrico com todos os participantes da RNVMMG nas 27 unidades obstétricas das cinco diferentes regiões geográficas do Brasil. Para o estudo, realizaram-se entrevistas com os coordenadores, pesquisadores e gestores de cada instituição, 6 e 12 meses após o término da coleta de dados da Rede. Os dados foram coletados a partir das entrevistas telefônicas gravadas, utilizando sistema digital NVIVO 9.0 ®, após consentimento informado verbal. Foi realizada análise qualitativa de conteúdo das respostas abertas das entrevistas e análise descritiva dos dados quantitativos. O conteúdo das respostas abertas foi submetido à análise temática, definindo-se as categorias e subcategorias emergentes dos discursos dos profissionais, segundo sua inserção institucional e na Rede. Resultados: Foram realizadas 122 entrevistas nas duas fases, incluindo pesquisadores e gestores dos serviços participantes, abrangendo 75,3% das entrevistas previstas, com maior participação dos gestores na 2ª fase. A maioria dos entrevistados considerou que a participação na RNVMMG mudou sua percepção e atitude diante da identificação dos casos de risco à morbidade/ mortalidade materna, ajudou a difundir os conhecimentos adquiridos no próprio serviço e tomar a conduta médica mais eficiente na condução desses casos. A divulgação científica dos resultados finais foi um fator determinante, em muitos serviços, para a discussão de mudanças de protocolo. Porém, não ficou evidente um impacto institucional duradouro. A necessidade de manter uma rede de vigilância morbidade materna grave foi salientada. Conclusão: Houve uma mudança significativa na capacidade dos profissionais que participaram da RNVMMG para identificar os casos, que se aprimorou ao longo do tempo. Os serviços participantes em sua maioria tiveram melhoria na qualidade dos cuidados oferecidos / Abstract: Background: Maternal death remains as a complex health problem and its reduction is the 5th Millennium Development Goal. To achieve this goal, countries need to know exactly what conditions lead to the death of women during pregnancy and childbirth. In this scenario, a group of researchers implemented a project to create a national network of scientific cooperation to surveillance, in order to know the frequency of near miss, to conduct a multicenter investigation on quality care of women with severe complications in pregnancy and to conduct a multidimensional assessment of a select group of these women (Brazilian Network for Surveillance of Severe Maternal Morbidity - BNSMM), with the participation of 27 centers in different regions of the country, Objective: To evaluate the perspective of professionals about the impact of the surveillance during the network study on the quality of care .Subjects and Methods: A multicenter study with 27 obstetric referral facilities in 5 different geographic regions of Brazil. For the study, researchers conducted a telephone interview with research coordinator, principal investigator and manager from each institution, six and 12 months after the end of the data collection from the surveillance study. Data was collected through interviews recorded using a digital system NVIVO® 9.0, after verbally authorized informed consent. Data analysis was performed by qualitative content analysis of open answers from the interviews and descriptive data analysis. The contents of the open answers were subjected to thematic analysis, defining the categories and subcategories of emerging discourses of professionals according to their insertion and institutional network. Results: We performed a total of 122 interviews in two phases including researchers and managers of the participating hospitals, covering 75.3% of the sample, with greater involvement of managers in the 2nd phase. Most of researchers felt that participation in BNSMM changed their perception and attitude towards the identification of cases with risk of severe maternal morbidity / mortality and helped to disseminate the knowledge acquired in the service itself and they considered that the medical management was more efficient in conducting these cases. Participants believe that the scientific publication of the final results was a determining factor to change practice. However, there was no evidently a lasting institutional impact. Participants emphasized need to maintain a network of severe maternal morbidity surveillance. Conclusion: There was a significant change in the ability of the professionals who participated in the RNVMMG to identify cases, which improved over time. Services participants mostly had improvement in quality of care offered / Doutorado / Saúde Materna e Perinatal / Doutora em Ciências da Saúde

This thesis presents a practical approach to reduce the overall testing time in a spherical near-field (SNF) antenna measurement environment. The premise of this work is that the acquisition time is mostly dominated by the mechanical movement and the processing electronic. Moreover, it is assumed that the transformation time to go from the near-field domain to the far-field domain (NF-FF transform) is small compared to the acquisition time. Thus this operation can be done repeatedly while the acquisition is on-going without significantly affecting the overall test time. This situation allows to continuously evaluate the far-field (FF) of the antenna under test (AUT), so that certain decision functions based on the radiation pattern of the antenna can be monitored. Such decision functions are based on the antenna specification, such as the gain, the side lobe level, etc. We do not proceed with a complete scan of the measurement sphere but effectively allow the probe to follow a directed path under control of an acquisition rule, so that the sampled near-field (NF) datapoints constitute an acquisition map on the sphere. The acquisition can then be terminated based on decision function values, allowing the smallest amount of data needed to ensure accurate determination of the AUT performance measures.

The purpose of this quantitative and qualitative study was to determine retrospectively marital satisfaction and stability following the near-death experience (NDE) of one of the marital partners, focusing on the role of Gottman's Sound Marital House (1999) in the couple's relationship before and after the NDE. The researcher used the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Test (1959), the Weiss-Ceretto Marital Status Inventory (1980), and a modification of Gottman's Shared Meanings Questionnaire (1999). The first group of participants included 26 NDErs. To create as comparable a group as possible, the researcher designed a life-changing event (LCE) group of 26 people who used as their referent the non-NDE-related experience they considered their most life-changing one during their marriage. Sixty-five percent of the marriages in which the NDErs were involved at the time of their NDEs ended in divorce. This number is in contrast to the 19 percent of LCE participants whose marriages ended in divorce. Marital adjustment, marital stability, and meanings in marriage between retrospectively based pre-event and post-event composite scores were statistically significantly different between the NDErs and LCErs. Low effect sizes were identified for each of the instruments except the Weiss-Ceretto Marital Status Inventory, which had a moderate effect size. Strong correlations among the scores were identified. Further analysis of the results indicated strongly that the NDErs were less satisfied in their marriages, their marriages were less stable, and they did not have a strong level of shared meaning in the marriage after the NDE occurred as compared to the LCE participants. This study has serious implications for counselors who may work with NDErs. Findings from this study show that NDErs who were married at the time of their experiences have a strong possibility of experiencing marital problems. Encouraging these couples to seek professional help as soon as possible can provide a forum for them to address the potential numerous changes in their relationship. By having more information about the effects of an NDE on a marriage, counselors will be better prepared to assist those couples who are not well prepared to navigate their way through the aftereffects of the event. Through psychoeducation and the application of counseling approaches, counselors can help their clients address specific issues related to their NDEs.

Orientadores: João Paulo Dias de Souza, José Guilherme Cecatti / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-27T16:41:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Chaves_SolangedaCruz_M.pdf: 1613021 bytes, checksum: 7d4197dbf48569d759c9b1315425c34b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / Resumo: Objetivos: Avaliar se as características propostas da Transição Obstétrica ¿ um modelo conceitual criado para explicar as mudanças graduais que os países apresentam ao eliminar a mortalidade materna evitável ¿ são observadas em um grande banco de dados multipaíses sobre a saúde materna e perinatal.Métodos: Trata-se de análise secundária de um estudo transversal da OMS que coletou informações de todas as mulheres que deram à luz em 359 unidades de saúde de 29 países da África, Ásia, América Latina e Oriente Médio, durante um período de 2 a 4 meses entre 2010 e 2011. As razões de Condições Potencialmente Ameaçadoras da Vida (CPAV), Resultados Maternos Graves (RMG), Near Miss Materno (NMM), e Mortalidade Materna (MM) foram estimadas e estratificadas por estágio de transição obstétrica. Resultados: Dados de 314.623 mulheres incluídas neste estudo demonstram que a fecundidade das mulheres, indiretamente estimada pela paridade, foi maior nos países que estão em estágio menor da transição obstétrica, variando de uma média de 3,0 crianças por mulher no Estágio II para 1,8 crianças por mulher no Estágio IV. O nível de medicalização do nascimento nas instituições de saúde dos países participantes, avaliada pelas taxas de cesárea e de indução de trabalho de parto, tendeu a aumentar à medida que os estágios de transição obstétrica aumentam. No Estágio IV, as mulheres tiveram 2,4 vezes a taxa de cesáreas (15,3% no Estágio II e 36,7% no Estágio IV) e 2,6 vezes a taxa de indução de trabalho de parto (7,1% no Estágio II e 18,8% no Estágio IV) que as mulheres de países no Estágio II. À medida que os estágios da transição obstétrica aumentaram, a média de idade das primíparas também aumentou. A ocorrência de ruptura uterina apresentou uma tendência decrescente, caindo aproximadamente 5,2 vezes, de 178 para 34 casos para 100 000 nascidos vivos à medida que os países transicionaram do Estágio II para o Estágio IV. Conclusões: Esta análise corroborou o modelo da Transição Obstétrica utilizando um banco de dados de grande porte e multipaíses. O modelo da Transição Obstétrica pode justificar a individualização da estratégia de redução da mortalidade materna de acordo com os estágios da transição obstétrica de cada país / Abstract: Objectives: To test whether the proposed features of the Obstetric Transition Model¿a theoretical framework that may explain gradual changes that countries experience as they eliminate avoidable maternal mortality¿are observed in a large, multicountry, maternal and perinatal health database. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of a WHO cross-sectional study that collected information on all women who delivered in 359 health facilities in 29 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, during a 2¿4-month period in 2010 ¿ 2011. The ratios of Potentially Life-threatening Conditions (PLTC), Severe Maternal Outcomes (SMO), Maternal Near Miss (MNM) and Maternal Death (MD) were estimated and stratified by stages of obstetric transition. Results: Data from 314 623 women showed that female fertility, indirectly estimated by parity, was higher in countries at a lower obstetric transition stage, ranging from a mean of 3 children in Stage II to 1.8 children in Stage IV. The level of medicalization in health facilities in participating countries, defined by the number of caesarean deliveries and number of labor inductions, tended to increase as the stage of obstetric transition increased. In Stage IV, women had 2.4 times the caesarean deliveries (15.3% in Stage II and 36.7% in Stage IV) and 2.6 times the labor inductions (7.1% in Stage II and 18.8% in Stage IV) than women in Stage II. As the stages of obstetric transition increased, the mean age of primiparous women also increased. The occurrence of uterine rupture had a decreasing trend, dropping by 5.2 times, from 178 to 34 cases per 100 000 live births, as a country transitioned from Stage II to IV. Conclusions: This analysis supports the concept of obstetric transition using multicountry data. The obstetric transition model could provide justification for customizing strategies for reducing maternal mortality according to a country¿s stage in the obstetric transition / Mestrado / Saúde Materna e Perinatal / Mestra em Ciências da Saúde

Ce travail de thèse a permis de développer un système de microscopie en champ proche terahertz en régime continu. Deux principales configurations ont été étudiée, l'un utilisant un sonde à ouverture et l'autre utilisant une pointe. Lors du développement de ce système, l'utilisation de guides d'onde de surface cylindriques (modes de Sommerfeld) a été nécessaire et une étude de ces modes a été faite tant sur le plan théorique qu'expérimental. / We developed two configurations of terahertz near field microscope. Th first one use an aperture and the other use a tip. We studied Sommerfeld wire waves.

The wireless industry is such that suppliers of antennas have to adapt their designs to requirement changes over a period of just a few months. In these short design cycles time is crucial. Radiation pattern testing of the antennas at various points in this design cycle are nowadays mostly done using spherical near-field techniques, where the tangential electric field is acquired over an imaginary sphere close to, and surrounding, the antenna under test, and this data then transformed into a far-zone radiation pattern. There are some applications where acquisition over a rotationally symmetric surface other than a spherical one would not only reduce test times, but allow equipment cost reductions as well. However, near-field to far-field transformations for finite non-spherical measurement surface shapes are not available. Such a transformation is proposed, implemented and validated in this thesis. It uses the method of moments, customized to a rotationally symmetric surface (body of revolution) to effect this transformation.

<p>*some of the hebrew words may not be written correctly in the abstract. Refer to the e-copy for the correct words. </p> / <p>This study sets out to redefine the concept of the biblical netherworld designated שְׁאוֹל, by focusing on the specific contexts within which it is mentioned as well as on the contexts of its semantic equivalents in the Bible. In the course of this study former views are reviewed and modifications suggested on the basis of different interpretations and in the light of new comparative material.</p> <p>In Chapter I previously proposed etymologies of שְׁאוֹל are surveyed and their linguistic and semantic adequacy critically evaluated. This study proposes a semantic development leading from Hebrew/Aramaic שְׁוֹל- 'to inquire' > 'to call to account' > and probably 'to punish' as relevant.</p> <p>Chapter 2 examines the contexts in which the semantic equivalents of Sheol appear. It is demonstrated that the contexts of בּוֺר - 'pit', a semantic equivalent of Sheol, always imply the realm of divine punishment, while שָׁ֫חַת - 'pit', another semantic equivalent of Sheol, appears in a similar context in all but one instance. This chapter further indicates the similarities between the biblical vocable חַוֹת - 'the realm of death', which parallels Sheol, and its Ugaritic counterpart Mȏt. These two concepts share a number of physical attributes. The suggestions conveyed by these attributes, however, are basically different. In Ugaritic literature they symbolize the intrinsic aggressiveness of the realm of Mȏt, but in biblical literature they serve to convey divine retributive judgement, thus raising a natural power onto an ethical plane. In the case of yet another semantic equivalent of Sheol, צרע - 'netherworld', there are a number of similarities between the biblical and extrabiblical concepts. Its range of meaning, however, in comparison to biblical Sheol, seems to be both wider and more neutral. While generally having negative denotations, it may appear in neutral and even once in a positive context . Sheol, on the other hand, is attested to in a negative context only, implying divine wrath and judgement.</p> <p>In Chapter 3 an examination of the contexts in which Sheol proper appears indicates that it is almost exclusively associated with unnatural death. Such a death, implying divine judgement, is further suggested by a literary use of ordeal terminology derived from Babylonian sources. The relationship of this terminology to the biblical אוף - 'catastrophe' has been discussed in an excursus and its Babylonian affinities indicated.</p> <p>Chapter 4 deals with the descriptive details of Sheol and points out their paucity and vagueness in comparison with extra-biblical accounts of the netherworld. It is shown that most of the physical features of Sheol - cords, snares and fetters - may be explained as conveying the idea of inescapability of divine judgement.</p> <p>Chapter 5 deals with the ancient Near Eastern notion of 'evil death' as distinguished from natural death, and indicates the relationship between such a death and the denizens of Sheol. The discussion focuses particularly on two groups _ Rephaim and Belial. The former are considered in the light of Ugaritic texts. While in both Ugaritic and biblical texts Rephaim are heroic figures, in the Bible the attitude to them seems to be negative and a polemic vein against a belief in their power may be detected. Part of the explanation for this may be suggested by hints of an ancient myth recounting the unsuccessful rebellion of the Sons of El, among whom the Rephaim may have been numbered. A second group of the dwellers of Sheol are the Belial. This designation is transferred by metonomy from the name of the underworld river to a special category of transgressors - the Belial. These are violators of the basic norms of ethical behavior of Israelite society. These norms are stipulated in the covenant between the Israelite and his fellow man. As a violator of these norms, the Belial merits an 'evil death', and since he cannot be pardoned, he will never rise from Sheol.</p> <p>The conclusion reached by this study is that the most formative influence on the concept of Sheol on the Bible was the view of God as the divine judge. It was this notion that prescribed the limits of the borrowings from neighboring cultures, entirely precluding a profusion of elements incompatible with the concept of ethical judgement. And it was this notion that accounts for the restriction of descriptive detail of Sheol in the Bible to a bare minimum. The emphasis is on a situation rather than on a locale, the situation of a person under judgement in a place of judgement suggested by the etymology of Sheol - Place of judgement.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)